13. Chapter
Progressing Further
Emerald green eyes suddenly flew wide open. Panic stricken she didn't seem to be able to breath and her vision was blurred due to all those tears which were escaping from her eyes. Her mouth was dry and a pitiful sob died on her lips. He had been here again, next to her and had tormented and tortured her for his sick pleasure.
She could feel his hands on her, how they caressed her cheeks and could feel his eyes scan her bound and battered body. He was here again and it was making her feel sick. In a desperate attempt to make herself known, Kiara opened her mouth to scream-
when a pair of strong arms wrapped itself around her shoulders and pulled her into a firm chest.
"Hush, love, everything is fine. I'm here, nothing can happen to you.", a soft, caring voice whispered into her ears.
It was Draco's voice and the firm chest and the pair of strong arms belonged to him as well. Kiara wasn't able to suppress the whimper, which tried to escape her mouth any longer and openly began to cry and cuddled herself deeper into her mate's caring arms.
Draco didn't say anything, he only increased the hold on her and brought her into a deeper embrace. Time seemed to stop and at the same moment fly by. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, holding her in his arms, caressing her back and trying to give her the much needed comfort.
Finally Kiara stopped crying. The last sobs had died down long ago and not even tears were streaming down her face anymore. Nevertheless, she still clung to him, in desperate need for the warmth of another human being and the presence of her mate. Draco didn't say anything, only held her like he had done before and slowly caressed her back.
"It was another one of those nightmares, wasn't it, love?"
His voice was soft. No traces of anger or hate could be detected. He was caring for her and his voice showed this perfectly. Kiara on the other hand relaxed more and more into his embrace, as totally enjoyed the feeling of being cared for and loved.
"Yeah. The Headmaster was here again. He attacked me and I-I think he molested me. I don't know anymore. It was all so confusing, a blur if you want to. All I know is that I was afraid, scared even. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I thought I would die. I thought I would never see you again. And I was afraid of loosing you."
The last part had been lowly muttered. Nevertheless Draco understood it perfectly. With a small, but sincere smile on his lips, Draco bent down, cupped her face with his hands, brought his face in front of her and then placed his lips upon her trembling ones.
The kiss was sweet, full of different emotions like longing, caring and understanding. Kiara seemed to loosen herself in it and Draco was reluctant when he had to break apart.
"You will never loose me, love, never. You are my mate and we will spend the rest of our lifes together. And no old, meddling fools like the Headmaster and no intriguing and self-centred people will ever be able to rip us apart. You are my lifeline and I will never, ever, let you go again. Understood?"
Kiara only nodded, while her head rested at his shoulder and his arms sneaked around her waist. She was resting on him completely. Each time he breathed in and out she could feel his chest rise and sink back down. His strong and regular heartbeat, the source of his caring nature, was beating loudly and absolutely audibly for her.
She could have stayed like this for eternity, only to listen to his heartbeat and breathing and to enjoy the warmth radiating from him.
Suddenly an odd thought crossed her mind. As she wasn't able to chase it away, Kiara turned in her mate's embrace and tried to look into his startling blue eyes.
"What is going to happen with the Headmaster, Draco?"
Draco sighed heavily, pulled his mate further into his embrace and let his cheek rest on her head. He could feel her relax into his arms, could feel her strong and regular heartbeat just like her even breathing. He didn't want to ruin this state of calmness, though she had asked him a question and he felt obliged to answer her.
Draco steeled himself for what was to come and carefully answered.
"The old fool is in Azkaban. Father thought it prudent to let him stay there. The Dementors will weaken him considerably and the mere stay there can be seen as a first punishment of sorts.
Then, tonight at eleven o'clock, the Headmaster will be brought before the Wizengamot to discuss and decide his further punishment and his future."
At first Kiara kept silent. She was sitting still and resting in his arms. She seemed normal, calm, though Draco could feel the distress rolling from her in crushing waves. Her heartbeat increased, as did her breathing. She was at the verge of starting to panic and Draco could do was to try calm her down.
"He is to be brought before a wizarding court?"
Her voice was forced, an edge of panic was swinging in it.
Draco nodded softly and increased his hold on her.
"Yeah. They will bring him before a wizarding court. But the Wizengamot is highest court we have here in magical Britain. It is like the Supreme Court. The court members come from different branches of the Ministry and the most important, influential and ancient families and houses of our society.
It will be sure. The old fool will have grave difficulties to corrupt them. They will punish him se-"
"No."
Kiara's voice was low, yet strong.
"No."
She turned around in his arms and forced him to lay down flatly in the process. Her hands rested on each side of his chest, her nose mere centimetres away from his. Her soft breath tickled his cheeks and left small goose bumps, where they met his hot skin.
Her emerald green eyes became steely, dangerous and stabbing like sharp daggers. Her full breasts leaned on his chest and her hips grinded against his, which awakened feelings in him he never felt so intense before. Their position was delicate and screamed pure sex at his mind, though she didn't seem to notice.
He tried to regulate his breath, to calm down so he wouldn't jump her right now and then. He was sure that she wouldn't appreciate it too much if he were to do so. When he heard her speak again, he tried with all his might to focus on her cold and steely voice.
"It won't work, Draco. If the Headmaster is brought before a wizarding court, he will never be punished. He will tell them how he only did this to help their community, because he thought it was the right thing to do and because it was for his damnable greater good.
I know that the members are from ancient families and different branches of the Ministry and normally I would agree that all of them have their quite share of problems with the old man. But you can't be so dense to think that they won't look at him with prejudices.
They will remember all those great things he has done for them, how he lead the school, how he defended Grimmelwald and the Dark Lord, how he tried to safe them all several times and how he is the perfect Leader of the Light Side. They will all keep those thoughts in mind, all of them and when it comes to his condemnation, they will all say that what he did was wrong, but he did it for them.
They will argue that it was truly only for the greater good and that it honestly wasn't to bad itself. And in the end, they won't punish him at all. They will say that he is a great man and that they are happy for him to be there to fight for them and to protect them. Everything will be just fine and finally forgotten.
No, nothing will happen and you know I am right, Draco."
With a mixture of a sob and a sigh, Kiara hid her face in the crook of his neck. When he felt her so flush against him, Draco had to fight to suppress a bright blush creeping over his face. Instead to linger on those tempting thoughts any further, Draco opted for caressing her back and neck, so she would calm down.
To be honest, what she said was true. The Headmaster wouldn't be punished at all. It irked him greatly to admit it. But there was no other way, wasn't it?
A muffled sound broke him free from his musings. Kiara, her head still hidden in the crook of his neck, had started to speak again.
"You know, I don't understand it. We are veelas, aren't we? And the Headmaster offended the law gravely. But not only wizarding law, but magical creature law as well. And isn't magical creature law above wizarding law?
Shouldn't the Headmaster be brought before a magical creature court, instead of a wizarding court?"
Draco suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. A silly smile crept over his features. This was it. This was, how they would be able to punish the Headmaster accordingly.
Joy and happiness spread through him and hadn't he been a Malfoy he sure as hell would have squealed in delight and hugged her senseless. But he was a Malfoy and so he opted for bringing her face to his and kiss her passionately.
When they finally broke apart again, both of their faces were heavily flushed and their breathing was laboured. Draco carefully cupped her face with his soft hands and brought his lips down to hers again for a soft kiss. Kiara leaned in it and enjoyed herself greatly.
But Draco was able to see through her mask of happiness and contentedness and there was a huge amount of confusion screaming for him to be stilled. He brought his head back again and smiled at her lovingly.
"You know, you are a genius, love."
He ignored the bright blush spreading over her face and the confusion which deepened in her eyes, but merely continued.
"I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but you are right. The Headmaster should be brought before a different court. The wizarding one would be far too corrupted."
He let his head fall down and slowly began to stroke her head, which caused Kiara to shudder under his touches.
"I don't know whether you knew this, but we really do have our own court, the Proud and Honourable Tribunal of all Higher Magical Creatures. I will tell my father immediately. The Headmaster shall be punished tonight, but he will be punished by beings like us instead of beings like him. They will punish him accordingly."
Kiara sighed. A soft, feminine hand suddenly found its way to his cheek, where it began to caress his soft skin lovingly.
"You know, I don't want to cause too much trouble. If your father would be able to accomplish a transfer to this court, I would be highly delighted. But, please, tell him, if it's too much of work and stress that it's okay if he doesn't want to do it. I know that he has much to do with finding a new Headmaster for this school.
It's just, I want the Headmaster to be punished, fairly and severely punished that is. And I just don't see this happening with a wizarding court."
A soft chuckle escaped Draco's mouth.
"Don't worry, love. It won't be to much work. To be honest, it will be fairly easy. But I will have to hurry up, otherwise we would be too late. I will tell my father immediately, so we can prepare everything for tonight."
He had just moved a few inches, before a small hand on his arm and a loud shout prevented him from moving further. He looked at Kiara and saw to his astonishment that her face was bright red in embarrassment for having shouted so loud. But her grip on her arm had never loosened.
"No, please don't go. Call for a house elf and tell it to inform your father of everything you want to tell him. But, please, don't leave."
Her voice was soft and shook a little. With sudden spreading fondness Draco noticed how she desperately tried to suppress a yawn. His features became softer and a loving smile greeted her. She wouldn't be able to sleep if he left and as she had asked him so cutely, Draco was more than willing to stay with her. He leaned his head back, allowed her to snuggle deeper into his embrace and to strengthen the hold of his arms on her waist and back.
"You are right, love. You will need to be fit and rested if you want to face the old fool tonight."
He could hear her breath even out and how her body slowly loosed its tenseness. Her beautiful eyes were closed, flanked by long, black lashes. A tiny pink taint appeared on her cheeks and the corners of her mouth lightly transformed into a content smile. She must have been half asleep already, nevertheless she answered.
"I won't be going to this trail. I can't. I can't stand to be near him again, to see him and to hear him. Please, don't make me go there. I'm all right with you being my represent and with you answering all questions concerning me. I know I can trust you. Because I love you."
Draco smiled brightly at his sleeping mate and placed a kiss on the top of her head, before he muttered into her ear.
"I love you too."
When only a light breathing answered him, Draco's smile deepened and his raised his hand to call for a house elf.
Narcissa cursed. Not openly and not aloud of course, but in her mind. She had been in the Hogwart's library for what seemed like eternity and she still was as clueless as before.
Normally she would have gone to their personal library at Malfoy Manor, but seeing as it was occupied at the moment, this was impossible. Lucius was at the moment holding a meeting with the School Governors to contemplate the future of not only the Headmaster but also the whole school.
It wasn't common for a school to loose its Headmaster during the year and therefore there weren't many suitable successors. That was why they were holding the meeting in Malfoy Manor's library. It contained most of the important family trees and information containing the suitable successors.
And that was why Narcissa Malfoy was currently at Hogwart's library, slowly going mad. She knew exactly what she was searching for, but nevertheless this knowledge didn't help her at all, seeing as the books didn't seem to have an order.
She had taken tons of books out of the shelves, had inspected the cover, only to place them back where they had been before immediately. It was frustrating. It just couldn't be. This book was too important to her. If she didn't found it now, they would have severe problems in the future.
Mindlessly she took the next book, flipped it open and was about to shut it, when she stopped dead in her tracks. That was it! That was what she had been searching for. She had found it!
Narcissa hurriedly read, what the book said and conjured a sheet of paper and a quill. While she was reading the text, her quill copied everything written on the page perfectly. A frown appeared on her beautiful features. This potion was complicated, impossible for her to brew. They would need help, special help that was it. Otherwise, all their work and preparations would be forfeit.
When the quill had stopped copying, Narcissa vanished it with a swift motion of her wand, placed the book back where it had been before and turned to take the sheet of paper. Once she had folded it neatly, the Malfoy Mistress placed it in one of the pockets of her under robes and then turned to leave the library. There was no need for her to stay there any longer than necessary waste more of their precious time.
Narcissa turned towards the dungeons and thanked the God not for the first time that Severus was such a Master at potions. Otherwise, they would now have serious problems. To hire another Potions Master would not only be very expensive, they would also loose a lot of time while they would have to explain why they needed this special potion at all. If they had been unfortunate, they would even have had to ask several Potions Masters to do this job. Thank God for Severus being the best Potions Master wandering in Europe.
She arrived at Severus quarters and entered the Potions Master's rooms without knocking or asking for entrance. She never did. Severus was as much a family member as it was Lucius' sister Lucrezia and her husband. He certainly did belong to the Malfoy family and there was no force on earth which could change this matter. Every Christmas, New Year, birthday and anniversary did Severus spend with her family.
So why ask for entrance? He was as much a brother to her as one could be. To knock would be too strange to even just consider it. And it wasn't, as if she would catch him doing something embarrassing anyways.
When she opened the door to his study, she was greeted with the sight of something absolutely unexpected. Severus was sitting in his favourite armchair, a steaming hot tea service on the table in front of him and a bright fire burning in the fireplace behind him. This wasn't so unexpected to be honest.
But what was indeed surprising, was the presence of a young, dark haired witch on the other side of the couch table. Her night black hair reached to her hips and hid every possible aspect of her figure. From what she was able to see, the young woman seemed to have slightly tanned skin which somehow could still be considered as pale in a strange way.
She was leaning forward, but as she had her back towards Narcissa, she was unable to tell whether she was leaning on the small table or not and what exactly her hands were doing.
The two of them seemed to be deeply engrossed in their conversation. Narcissa unfortunately was unable to hear what they were talking about, but it must have been something Severus was interested in, as he would from time to time smile lightly and his counterpart was laughing silently, sometimes swinging her hair back over her shoulder in what could be a flirtingly manner.
Narcissa didn't know why, but the two of them seemed to be disturbingly familiar with each other and wouldn't she know it better, she would have sworn that the stubborn and cold hearted acting Potions Master greatly enjoyed her presence in his normally lonely rooms.
When several moments had passed and the two chatting occupants of the rooms still hadn't noticed her presence, Narcissa decided to make herself known. She stepped back into the entrance hall and then, with slightly too loud and strong steps the Malfoy Mistress approached the Potions Master's study.
Just like her steps, her voice was too loud and cheerful for her normal self.
"Ah, Severus, here you are! I have been searching everywhere for you!", she exclaimed exaggeratedly.
As soon as the words had left her mouth, the two chatting person sprung apart and looked at her with wide eyes. The young witch immediately rose from her armchair opposite of Severus', straightened her perfectly straight robes and bent her head to desperately hide the increasing blush on her cheeks.
Despite the obvious strange reactions, Narcissa wasn't able to suppress some admiring thoughts about the young witch's beauty. Her facial features were different from every single one she had ever seen. She must be from far away, probably some country far east. Nevertheless her beauty was unquestionable.
The young girl raised her head again and startling silver orbs connected with sky blue ones. A small blush found its way on the young woman's cheeks and she bent her head immediately again, as if she was fearing to look in the other woman's eyes. With unsure movements she turned around and locked her gaze with Severus', who had somehow been able to keep his blush in check.
A small smile crept over her lips and in a barely audibly voice she asked the Potions Master.
"Well, tomorrow evening at six it is then. I am looking forward to it. Good day, Severus, Madam."
With that the dark haired witch turned around and hastily left the Potions Master's study. Her quick, nearly running steps were audibly all the way out, until a faint plop informed them of the now closed portrayal.
Slowly Narcissa turned around and looked intently at one of her best friends. He looked perfectly normal for anyone who didn't knew him better.
But Narcissa knew him quite well, even better than he knew himself to be correct and his attempts to hide his discomfort weren't fooling her at all. As she didn't know what could have caused this unexpected composure of his, Narcissa slowly sat down on the now empty armchair and continued to study him intensely.
"Did I ruin something, Severus?"
She was watching him intensely and immediately thanked the Gods that she had done so. Otherwise she would have never detected the slight blush which crept of his stoic features, despite all his obvious work and willpower not to show it.
A sudden thought crossed her mind and startled she realized that Severus was embarrassed about something. Hell, he wasn't even able to look at her. Narcissa gasped loudly and immediately broke him free of his thoughts.
"Oh my God, Severus, did I ruin your date? Oh my, I'm so sorry!"
Severus, however, chuckled only lightly and shook his head stiffly. Then he turned his head and looked at his best friend's wife. He knew her since they were small children and strangely he was never able to be angry at her for a long time.
"No, Cissy, you didn't ruin anything. I can assure you that this wasn't a date. And as you surely noticed quite well, we will be on a date tomorrow evening. So, no harm done."
Narcissa forgot completely why she had come to his quarters at all, bent forward and looked at Severus with such intensity that he had to cringe in the process.
Why, oh why, had it to be Narcissa Malfoy to get a hold on this delicate information? Sometimes the Gods sure as hell did seem to have a lot of fun making his life as difficult and nerve-racking as possible.
"So, Severus, please tell me who this nice, young woman was."
The Potions Master sighed in obvious discomfort, but knew better than to oppose Narcissa Malfoy in this state of mind and feeling. It just wouldn't do him any good.
"Her name is Anastasia Petrushka. She came here to investigate the Headmaster's behaviour and actions towards Kiara. As you can surely tell by her name and the way she looks different, she comes from Russia. She lives in England since she had the possibility to work and study here for a couple of years. But when she was a child, she had once lived here before."
He took a sip from his tea and then watched the Malfoy Mistress just as intensely as she did with him.
"Do you remember Kiara telling us on her first day at your Mansion that she once had a friend from Russia, who taught her how to speak Russian, but who unfortunately had to move back to Russia with her parents?"
Severus paused. When he saw Narcissa nod, he evenly continued.
"Well, that's her. Anastasia Petrushka is Kiara's first best friend and like her bigger sister."
"Wow, this was unexpected."
Narcissa kept silent, while Severus only nodded at what she had said and continued to drink his tea. Suddenly a new thought, just as startling as the one before, came to her mind. Narcissa turned around in her seat and leaned back, while she locked her gaze with the Potions Master's face.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were interested in someone, Kiara's bigger sister nonetheless?"
Squirming in his seat, the young, dark haired man tried to avoid having to look at the very interested looking blond haired woman in front of him. Unconsciously his hand played with the hem of his robes, which made him look like a small child afraid of being laughed at.
"It's not like I don't trust you or don't want you all to take part in my life. It's just that it has been some time when I last felt that I was in love with someone. Back then I really loved her and pictured my life with her, being married and having kids and all. But then it all came different.
She left me and married someone else. She broke my heart in doing so and as it hurt too much, I swore to myself that I would never fall in love again, so I would never be able to feel such pain again. But now I am sitting here and I know for sure that I am falling in love with this young, intriguing and beautiful witch. I just fear that it will all turn out like before.
Hell, I don't even know why she is interested in me enough to agree to go on a date with me."
Severus sighed deeply and averted his eyes to look at his now empty tea service.
It suddenly seemed to be so much easier speaking with a piece of porcelain than having to look at Narcissa's probably laughing and teasing face. He wouldn't be able to take any comments on his disastrous love life anymore. The previous years had been enough.
"I had planned to bring her with me to your annual Christmas party. I figured that it would be the perfect event to present her. Lucrezia and her husband will be there, just as you and Lucius, Draco and Kiara. There would be enough people there to not feel awkward being thrust into their middle. I will bring her to this year's Christmas party, I promise, if our relationship lasts so long that is."
When he looked up from his tea set, Severus came face to face with a sincerely smiling Narcissa. Something which didn't happen every day. She bent forward and carefully took his hand into hers.
"You know, I think it will work out. I have seen her looking at you. She must be just as much in love with you, as you are with her. I saw it, so don't you even think about denying it!
And what is this about you not being worthy enough to be loved? Are you kidding me?
You don't look bad, you are young, and you are successful. You are highly educated, you have good manners and you are interested in a lot of things. And heck, you are skilled in nearly as much things as you are interested in, too!
So don't you dare walk around and tell yourself that you are worthless and not being worth to receive any love. You are wrong, Severus, very wrong. And just because your first love left you, this doesn't mean that it has to happen again. Be open for new things, like this relationship and everything will turn out perfectly right."
When they sat in a comfortable silence, nobody moved or spoke for quite some time. Narcissa was daydreaming about a future family uniting of not only her son and Kiara, but also about her bigger sister and Draco's Godfather. It would be perfect and Narcissa was already thinking about what would have to be done, should everything work out like she was expecting it to do. But suddenly a male voice interrupted her happy musings.
"As much as I really appreciate your help in all aspects of my personal life, but you surely just didn't come to see how I was doing. So, pray tell, Narcissa, what can I do for you?"
Startled Narcissa realized she had completely forgotten why she was here in the first place.
A pretty blush crept over her features, while her hands were searching in her pockets for the little sheet which she had placed somewhere in there. When she finally found it, she took it out and handed it over for Severus to take it.
Severus only raised an eyebrow in question, but he nevertheless took the sheet of paper and began to read what it said. The further he read the further his eyebrow wandered to his hair.
"You know how guilty Draco feels about not being able to protect his mate perfectly. You, just like I, have seen it. The guilt eats him away and threatens his happiness and the future bond with his mate. If he doesn't go into this union with the feeling of utmost security all will turn out horrible wrong. They will never bond completely and this would not only destroy but also her life in the process.
I just don't want to risk this. He is my only son and he deserves to be happy, just like Kiara deserves to be absolutely loved. This is why Lucius and I planned this. We were searching for a way to keep Kiara and Draco absolutely safe, so he won't have to fear for her anymore and Draco will be able to complete his duties as a mate."
Narcissa paused and waited for Severus to look at her, before she continued.
"This is our solution. It's a strong combination out of a potion, a spell and some rune rituals. Combined correctly, they will guarantee what we search for. Kiara will be absolutely safe. Lucius will be able to perform the spell, we already tested it out. I will take over the part of the rune ritual. You know it was my speciality in school and as I have already tried, it will work out quite good. And then there is the potion."
Narcissa sighed, before she continued.
"As you can see, the potion is fairly complicated. It surpasses my and Lucius' potion brewing abilities by far. This is why I came to you. You are the only one who would be able to brew the potion correctly. If you can't do it, then nobody can and my son's and Kiara's life will be forfeit."
"I can assure you, Narcissa, I will be able to brew the potion. It will take me a week or a little bit more, but in the end the potion will be perfect. Am I correct in assuming that the combination will be used in a special ceremony?"
"Of course, Severus. There will be a special ceremony needed for it. But you just as much as I know that this ceremony will come up sooner or later. Sooner if I am not absolutely mistaken. You talked with him about it. You know what he wants to do. He is just waiting for the perfect moment.
Until then, everything has to be prepared so we won't loose any more unnecessary time."
Severus nodded and turned his gaze to study the sheet again. Narcissa was right. The potion was fairly complicated. Even some Masters should have severe problems brewing it correctly. But he wasn't just any Master. He would be able to brew it, there was no mistaking it.
"And you are absolutely sure that this will work out correctly?"
Had he not been studying the sheet, he would have seen the knowing smile on Narcissa's face.
"Yes, I am."
The Proud and Honourable Tribunal of all Higher Magical Creatures was an imposing and breathtaking building. Even more so at night. Not many knew where it was located, due to the huge amount of strong defensive and hiding spells. And of those who knew where it was located, an even smaller number survived to remember its existence. To be called in front of this Tribunal was mostly a very bad sign and only few weren't charged guilty enough to get killed in the process. Some wouldn't even survive the questioning.
The building consisted of several smaller rooms, as each magical creature race needed its own place to meet and to gather information. The rooms formed a huge square. Each and every room was exactly as big as the others, they only variated due to the individual decorations and preferences of said races. Veelas preferred bright, nicely decorated rooms as much as vampires liked the dark rooms filled with blood freezing obstacles which would make others run away screaming. Around the rooms there was a big corridor which connected the separate locations.
In the middle of the square forming rooms there was another huge hall. It had no windows and only two portals granted access to this sacred area. One was for the members of the Tribunal, the other for the defendants. The room was dark and scarcely illuminated by the floating chandeliers and candles above the speaking area. 150 big and dark wooded armchairs were placed in a neatly half circle. There was enough space between the chairs so that the members could pass through them easily without blocking each other.
Opposite of the half circle of chairs there was a single hard and uncomfortable looking chair. Several chants, spells and curses were placed on it so that the captives wouldn't be able to run away. Another simple spells hindered them from telling lies. Centaurs valued their free time and didn't like it at all when some guy tried to lie to them, even when it was clear to all of them, that he wasn't speaking the truth. That was why this spell had been added to others. Since then their hearings had been much shorter and better thought through than before.
Behind the defendant's chair hung the fifteen imposing and stunning looking banners of the fifteen magical creature races, which were able to converse with muggles and wizards in high intellectual standards. There had first been quite an uproar when werewolves had been added to the former fourteen once, but when it had become clear how much this race had been degraded and looked upon by the mere human race, they had been welcomed with open arms. The Ministry of Magic's strong and negative course of actions against them had only favoured their warm welcome in the magical creatures' community.
This evening, like every evening before and every evening that was to come when they were called to gather, the members of the Tribunal gathered in their respective rooms. Veelas, werewolves, vampires, centaurs, elves and several other races interacted on friendly basis, never insulted each other or looked down upon them. Each race sends ten members of their community to act as represents for their race. Only the most influential, the most respected and the most honourable members of their society were sent.
The black of the robes was oppressive. Each represent wore the same black, wide robes with big hoods to hide their face and identities. Shortly before the hearing began, the seats would be drawn. Over the course of the years the members had decided to let fate have a role in their choice of seats. When the races would be mixed, arrangements with each other and decisions based on racial aspects would be prevented. Thanks to this arrangement one could be sure that the members were voting for what they thought was right and not what others told them to think to.
When everyone had found his or her seat, they sat down and waited in silence. No one was speaking, not even the slightest rustling of robes disturbed the absolute silence. Moments later the faint taps of feet against the cold stone floor could be heard. Nevertheless no one moved. The taps grew louder and louder until they reached the defendant's door. A few moments passed in utter silence, before finally the defendant's door was opened and four figures entered the court hall.
No one was moving when a hooded and bound figure, accompanied by three elegantly dressed hall servants entered. The hooded figure walked in the middle, a black person to its right, to its left and one behind it. Its head was bent and the hands bound behind its back. Silently they arrived at the defendant's chair. Without speaking, the bound figure sat down on the chair, its head still bend and hands now fiercely connected with the wooden chair. The hall servants bowed fluently to the crowded Court, before they swatted the figure's hood away and turned to leave.
In the pale light of the court hall Albus Dumbledore's face was revealed to the members of the Tribunal.
Suddenly a single black robed figure stood up from its place in the court hall and walked forward to where the former Headmaster of Hogwarts was held captive. Its passes were fluently, nearly inaudibly in the absolute silence around them. Slowly the figure walked forward, never stumbled and never hesitated, before it finally arrived at its destination and turned around to face the still patiently waiting Court Members. With a fluent motion, the hood was pushed back and two eyes scanned the area around them.
"Thank you all for coming, dear friends and honourable members of our society. Thank you all for coming even on this short notice."
Lucius Malfoy turned around to look at each person personally, while his eyes sparkled and a faint aura of happiness and contentedness spread around him.
"Welcome again to another meeting of the most honourable and most prestigious members of our society."
Lucius was smiling lightly. He had had to work hard, but in the end it had been worth it. Dumbledore, the old, meddling fool had been sent to be punished by this Tribunal and not by the Wizarding Court like the Ministry and he had expected. With a light scowl he remembered the hours before. Dumbledore had been brought from Azkaban to Vinculam. There had been quite an uproar in the Ministry, when several hooded figures appeared at the entrance of Azkaban and demanded to be presented the captive Dumbledore. Fudge had spluttered and his head had turned an interesting shade of purple, but in the end he had been powerless. The servants had the right paperwork and no force on earth would be able to change it.
"Sadly our meeting tonight is not of such a good and gratifying nature as one would wish it to be. To be honest, I called this meeting tonight because of a very personal matter."
Lucius slowly turned around and walked over to where the captive was sitting. He could feel all eyes on him and was barely able to suppress a smirk. This was his work, his power and his influence. Dumbledore was a nobody here and no one would be sympatic with him. He would get his fair share in the end and Lucius would personally guarantee it.
"As all of you know I, like my wife and son, am a pureblooded veela. This summer my sixteen year old son finally came into his inheritance. This did not only bring a huge amount of power with it, but also the knowledge of his life mate. As it turned out, his mate was a girl of his age, harshly marked by fate. Her parents had died a year ago due to an accident, which left her alone without a remaining living family member. So we took her in and tried to offer her what fate and life wouldn't share with her.
At first we had been a little preoccupied and feared that all those losses and the bad treatment - she had been severely abused by the persons she had to live with - would have taken their toll on her. But miraculously everything turned out nicely. She opened up to us and soon accepted us as her new family. Even her relationship to my son improved drastically. Sharing loving gestures in public soon became a common thing."
It wasn't visible, but the atmosphere in the court hall changed. It suddenly became peaceful and happy and even content. Hadn't the big, black hoods hidden the faces, one would have seen several small but sincere smiles on them. It wasn't a common thing for a troubled young one to accept his or her life mate so easily. Most would at first try to deny the bond they shared, which would unknowingly cause severe trouble and problems in the process. To see that there were still ones who would accept their mates without questioning fate or life truly was a good thing and felt very nice.
"As my son attends Hogwarts, it was a sure thing that his mate would attend this school, too. So we prepared her accordingly and taught her the most important facts and customs of the wizarding society. She learned marvellously and when September the first arrived, everything seemed to be perfect. She soon found friends and started to act and think like a true witch would do. But sadly, it shouldn't continue like this."
Lucius turned around and glared openly at the bound old man.
"I should now explain what happened. All of you surely know Harriet Potter, the saviour of the wizarding world. She has long brown hair and green eyes. For most of the wizards and witches Ms. Potter seemed to be their only symbol of hope, they worship the very ground she walks on, as they expect her to vanquish the Dark Lord on her own. This summer Ms. Potter seemed to have had enough, as she suddenly disappeared and was not found until now.
The wizarding community was in an uproar, many people were afraid and nearly all of them demanded to find her and force her to fulfil her destiny. Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and former mentor of Ms. Potter was in an even worse situation as he was held responsible for her absence. He, like most of the Aurors, was searching everywhere for her, but she could not be found."
Lucius sighed and suddenly looked grave.
"I should explain now that my son's mate bares a slight resemblance to the lost saviour of the wizarding world. She has long, dark brown, nearly black hair and has emerald green eyes. Her facial features, height and personality differ greatly from Ms. Potter's, yet they have those two little aspects in common. So when she arrived at the Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts and the Headmaster saw her, he thought her to be the missing Ms. Potter in his desperation. He stepped forward and accused her of being someone else in public. But not only that, he also striked her and attacked her, while the whole school was watching."
Now looking more enraged than grave, Lucius continued his tale.
"When we found out what had happened, we immediately pressed charges against the Headmaster, which resulted in the observation of his work and the questioning of most of the teachers and students. He was officially warned to stay away from my son's mate and to never speak to her alone again. Though for the Headmaster it didn't seem to be enough. He was obsessed with her being Ms. Potter and so he planned for days how to proceed. A week after his official warning, the Headmaster translated his plan into action."
A light breeze suddenly appeared in the courtroom, which slightly intensified while Lucius was speaking. He was clearly enraged and whatever was to come, it would shock all of them.
"Last Saturday the Headmaster sent a letter to my son's mate. The letter was a disguised portkey and as soon as the girl touched it, she was whisked away. My son was with her at the moment and understandingly he went into shock. We searched for her for two days, until we finally found her. When we got to her, she was in a miserable shape and had gone into shock. My son wasn't able to leave her side for long, as she was simply too distressed and still is."
Lucius breathed in deeply, before he raised his eyes to look at the Court Members again. His eyes were full of anger and worry, a strange mixture which no one of them had ever seen before in his eyes. He tried for several moments to suppress his anger, so he wouldn't do something he would regret later.
"I now wish for you to take a vote on this man's fate."
The silence between them was broken by a loud, booming male voice.
"We understand your request, Lucius and we will honour it. Nevertheless, would we now like to question your son and his mate on this matter. Please, take a seat, Lucius, while your son Draco and your daughter-in-law to be may step forward."
With a small nod Lucius showed his acceptance and went to take his seat in the front row. At the same time he could see a single figure standing up from its place and walk to front, where Lucius had been standing before. Lucius nodded to the figure, then turned around and let himself sink down on the huge armchair in a fluent motion. Just when he was seated, the hooded figure turned around to the Court Members and pulled back its hood.
"Young Mr. Malfoy, welcome to the Proud and Honourable Tribunal of all Higher Magical Creatures. I am pleased to see that you are here and that you are well. But, please, tell us, Draco, why you are here alone and why your mate is obviously missing this important meeting? It is her case we are discussing after all."
The same male voice questioned as before. Draco could hear soft murmuring and some shifting of robes.
"Thank you for your warm welcome. I came here alone, because my mate is still unwell. Her Healer told her to stay at least for another few days in bed and to not indulge in too stressful activities and sadly, I have to say that this Court Meeting would be too stressful for her. That is why I came alone. But I have her permission to speak on her behalf and to tell what happened to her."
A curious, melodious sounding, feminine voice to his right asked him freely:
"Draco, what problems does your mate have, so that she isn't able to come tonight? Did something bad happen?"
A sly smirk appeared on Draco's face. So, they were asking whether there was something more important to Kiara than this court meeting? It was a good question, one which surely decided with which course of action the Members were about to proceed. If he now didn't play his card right and lost their trust and benefit, all their work would be nullified.
Draco smiled sadly and slowly shook his head.
"No, nothing bad has happened. Kiara is only still suffering from the after-effects of her kidnapping. The Headmaster's doing has caused many of her old, scarcely healed wounds of her past to break open again. As my father told you already, she has been mistreated and abused by her former temporal guardians. Now the Headmaster has acted in a way very similar to them.
He hit her, he accused her of ridiculous things, he yelled at her and he even physically assaulted her. For Kiara it was as if she was a small child again, just after her parents' death. She was afraid of him, afraid of being touched or being talked to by anyone.
When we finally found her, she was in a deep state of shock. She wouldn't allow anyone else besides me to touch her. Since her kidnapping she awakes several times a night due to some horrific nightmares, which only tend to go away after a strong dose of Sleepless Dream Potion. This is why she isn't here tonight.
She is afraid of being in the presence of too many people, especially him."
A light murmuring erupted from several areas in the court hall. Draco couldn't hear what they were saying exactly, but from the way they talked and looked at each other, he knew the Court Members were angry. A little, smug smile dared to creep over his stoic features. The Court Members were already on his side and if he kept on with his perfectly elaborated speech, they would stay where they were. Dumbledore would be damned.
Draco schooled his features perfectly and prepared himself for the next questions.
"Are there any other after-effects caused by this kidnapping?"
Another feminine voice asked. This time the voice was cold and composed, the complete opposite of the loving and caring voice of the elf before. So this was what talking to an ice fae of the northern regions was like, Draco mused.
"Yes, sadly there are other after-effects. Not only is she now afraid of being left alone, she also fears at the same time to have to spend time in the presence of too many other living beings. It seems as if she only feels safe with a small number of friends and family. Some other fears have appeared, too. She is afraid of the darkness, afraid of being touched and hates loud noises.
Her physical health has suffered greatly. The bruises and cuts only heal in a slow rate and due to the stress she isn't able to eat like she normally would, which results in a loss of weight. But the worst of all are the reappearing nightmares which cause her several times a night to wake up screaming and crying. There is no way for her to avoid these. Dreamless Sleep Potion won't work. Only my presence seems to help her, but sadly it isn't enough."
"Do you think or feel, young veela that the human's actions have forced you and your mate to take a step backwards in your mating process? Do you feel as if you were negatively influenced?"
The male voice was cold, silky and totally void of any emotion. Nevertheless, Draco could detect something which could be described as concern and heartfelt pity. As the interrogator was a vampire and as such had a mate like Draco did, he would certainly understand the dilemma Draco was in.
Draco smiled wistfully, while he looked at the interrogator and answered with all the pain and sorrow he felt.
"Yes, I feel as if we had to take at least a step backwards. It isn't so as if she was feeling uneasy in my presence. No, not in the slightest. But she is still distressed. To ask her now if she would marry me and to complete the bond, wouldn't be right. She wouldn't know what to do, even less feel ready for such a big step in her life."
Angry murmuring and agitated nodding ensued after this statement. Draco didn't have to look at them to see that they were furious. And to be honest, he understood them quite well. There was nothing worse, nothing more unethical and unmoral to disturb the mating process of two magical creatures. The wizarding law may think that it was a minor issue, but tonight they weren't consulting the wizarding law. And for each and every magical creature, the Headmaster had to be punished severely.
"Now the last question, young Draco. What would you do if you had the chance to decide this man's punishment?"
The loud and booming voice of an agitated and severely enraged werewolf asked him.
Draco looked up from where he stood and locked his gaze with the Court Members in front of him. His normally warm, blue eyes were cold as ice and seemed to burn with a dangerous fire. His facial features seemed to become hard like steel, no muscle twitched and there was no single sign of an emotion. Draco was, what the schoolbooks would describe as a enraged dominant veela, who had to fear for his mate. He wasn't a pleasant sight.
"I would kill him."
Nodding ensued and several members of the Court smiled their approval. A tall, pale looking incubus suddenly stepped forward and walked to where Draco was standing. A slight movement of the Court Member's hand signalled Draco to step a little to the side but remain at the man's side. The incubus turned around and directed his cold, white eyes at the seated Court Members.
"You all heard, what young Draco and his father told us."
His voice was raspy and hissing, like a mountain of dead leaves moved by the ice-cold winter wind.
"There is no arguing in that what has been done, has to be punished. Only one last question has to be asked. Court servants, please loose the gag, so our defendant may speak freely."
When the Court Members turned around to where the Headmaster was sitting, they saw two hooded men loosening the gags.
"I will only ask one question, human, and I expect you to answer it properly. Is everything these two members of our society told us true? Did you mistreat, abuse, attack and kidnap this young veela due to those ignorant and arrogant, yet so unimportant reasons stated?"
The Headmaster was struggling. His mouth opened and closed in a rapid motion and small pearl of sweat appeared on the old man's forehead. The long, bound arms and legs slightly started to tremble and his whole figure seemed to convulse. It was clear to all of them that the Headmaster tried desperately to manipulate the spells placed on him, which forced him to tell the truth. He wanted to explain his reasons, wanted to show them how what he had done was only for the greater good. But in the end he was too weak and finally he opened his mouth.
"Yes.", he whispered.
The incubus nodded stiffly and turned around to where the rest of the Court Members were discussing the situation in angry hisses.
"We heard everything we needed to hear. Now we shall come to a decision. Please, raise your hand if you think and feel this human to be guilty of all the charges brought against him."
As in one motion, the Court Members raised their hands. When Draco looked around carefully, he realized with inner contentedness that every single Member had raised his or her hand.
"Then so be it. The human Albus Dumbledore is found guilty of all charges brought against him. Due to the severity and the brutality of his actions I hereby condemn him to be subjected under the experisis memorias spell.
This spell forces the victim to relive all kind of bad memories, fears and thoughts caused by his interfering. Not only psychical wounds will be opened and lived through by the victim, but also each and every kind of physical wounds will be relived. Only when the victim finds himself guilty of what he is accused of and he understands and respects what has been done against him, will the spell cease to work."
The tall incubus turned around, locked his snow-white eyes with Draco's and then motioned for the young veela to step forward next to him. Without hesitation but with a feeling of foreboding Draco complied and took his place next to the Court Members' speaker. A small smile flickered over the dead looking man's features, which disappeared nearly as quickly as it appeared before.
"Young Draco, you shall be the one to inflict this spell upon this human. Normally it would be the defendant's victim, but as your mate can't participate tonight in this meeting and you are her replacement in speech and body, you shall have the honour to punish him. Please, step forward, raise your wand and speak the incarnation clearly."
Draco nodded and slowly stepped forward. Suddenly he felt like hesitating. What would this spell truly cause? Would there be after-effects or strange things happing due to it? Kiara had wanted the man to be punished, fairly and severely punished indeed.
But he knew his mate and if some longer lasting damage would be inflicted upon this man, Kiara surely would make herself responsible for it. But they couldn't change it now. He was condemned to be subjected under this spell and it was Draco's duty to cast it. He would have to fulfil his duty, for himself and his mate.
Draco took another deep breath, stopped and then raised his wand. His heart was beating rapidly and small pearls of sweat suddenly appeared on his stoic features. He closed his eyes slightly and with a last thought about his hurt and scared mate at Hogwarts, Draco did what he had to do.
"Experisis memorias"
The spell only came lowly muttered over his lips, nevertheless the effects were grave. A bright, blindingly white light erupted from Draco's wand, chased through the open space in front of him and collided with the Headmaster's chest with a loud and booming noise.
Immediately the Headmaster changed.
His face became pale and his eyes became distant. They could see his eyes flickering from left to right and back, though they never focused and never realised what was happening around them. His breath became laboured as his face grew even paler, applying a sickly looking green and blue taint to his cheeks. The long and thin fingers clenched and unclenched. They worked furiously but to no avail. His mouth started to twitch and slowly words came out of it.
"O-oh my God... No-o..."
Long and thick traces of sweat poured down the old man's face. His hair was muddled and his clothes slowly became a mess. The twitching in his arms and legs had increased. Spasms seemed to wrecked his body and caused him great amounts of pain. Suddenly a loud crack made them jerk. The Headmaster's nose had been broken, soon followed by his arms and legs. Bruises appeared on his face and marks which disturbingly looked like strangulation marks appeared on his throat.
"No-o, please don't..."
Blood appeared at the corners of the old man's mouth, which caused him cough and nearly choke on blood-filled spit. The twitching steadily increased and slowly but steadily the paleness on the Headmaster's face became alarming. His breath was now so laboured that it literally hurt having to hear him breathe. The bruises increased and the broken body parts seemed to cause him quite some discomfort.
The old man wouldn't last much longer and there was no mistaking in it, that neither Draco nor any of the other Court Members would try to help him. Not that they were able to at the moment.
Suddenly the Headmaster sobbed. It was a small sound, yet so very audibly in the absolute silence of the courtroom. Tears were now streaming down his face and mixed with the traces of sweat and blood. Sorrow seemed to radiate from him in big waves and one didn't need to be an empath to know that the old man finally seemed to realize what damage he had caused with his selfish actions.
"O-oh my God... please make it stop, STOP!... I-I can't take it anymore. I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
The Court Members watched in silence how the Headmaster slowly sank down to the floor. His face grew even paler and his breathing became more and more laboured, but finally the twitches and the spasms had stopped and his eyes, which had been unfocused throughout the entire procedure, now seemed to find a point to look at. His voice was as laboured as his breathing and therefore the Court Members had to lean forward and listen closely to understand what the old and now broken man was muttering.
"I'm sorry, God, I'm sorry. Please, forgive me."
And with these last words, Albus Dumbledore finally took his last breath.